Australia also issues warning on Benghazi

Date: January 25 2013

Alice Ritchie

Australia has joined Britain, Germany and The Netherlands in urging its citizens to immediately leave Benghazi after London warned of a "specific and imminent threat" to Westerners in the Libyan city where a US ambassador was killed in an attack.

Britain's warning sparked an angry response from Libya's government, which said there was "no new intelligence" to justify such concerns in the eastern city that was the cradle of the uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The alert out of London came just hours after British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that last week's deadly attack on a gas complex in Algeria was only one part of what would be a "long struggle against murderous terrorists" across the world.

"We are now aware of a specific and imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi, and urge any British nationals who remain there against our advice to leave immediately," the Foreign Office in London said in a statement.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issued an alert on Friday morning (AEDT) following the warnings from Britain, Germany and The Netherlands, variously describing the threat as specific and imminent.

"All Australians in Benghazi should leave immediately," DFAT said on its website.

"We are aware of a specific, imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi."

The department reminded Australians that its travel advisory for Libya was still at its highest "do not travel" level "due to the high threat of terrorist attack, the ongoing threat of kidnapping and the unpredictable security situation throughout the country".

"Australians who choose to remain in Libya should ensure that they have appropriate personal security measures in place," DFAT said.

The German foreign ministry later issued a statement urging its citizens to "urgently leave the city and the region of Benghazi", saying it had information about "a specific, immediate threat to Western citizens in Benghazi".

The Netherlands also repeated its warning against travel to Benghazi and surrounding areas, with a foreign ministry spokesman telling AFP: "This means it would be better if they left."

Air Malta announced it was cancelling its two scheduled flights to Benghazi on Thursday because of Britain's warning.

The company said it was monitoring the situation "in real time" and was so far not cancelling its next flight, scheduled for Tuesday.

Libya's deputy interior minister, Abdullah Massoud, expressed his "astonishment" at the warnings and said his country would be demanding an explanation from Britain.

"We acknowledge that there are security problems in Benghazi and that there have been for several months, but there is no new intelligence that could justify this reaction from London," the minister said.

"On the contrary. We are now in the process of establishing our authority in the east and in all of Libya, and the security forces are organising themselves little by little and are more and more visible on the ground."

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